#PalmettoPrimary Rain not washing out candidate town halls this weekend

Adaily look at how the presidential candidates of both parties are trying to win the “First in the South” primary

After a relatively quiet week for presidential campaigns in South Carolina, two Republican candidates are braving the forecasted rain to appear at separate town halls on Friday.

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina will be the latest candidate to participate in a town hall hosted by U.S. Sen. Tim Scott. The noon event will be held at the University of South Carolina-Aiken’s Etherredge Center. She will answer questions submitted in advance by members of the audience and asked in person by Sen. Scott.

Fiorina will then travel through the heart of Friday’s rain to attend a gathering of college Republicans in the Lowcountry. The 5:00 p.m., event will be held at the U.S.S. Yorktown aircraft carrier museum in Mount Pleasant, although Mrs. Fiorina is not expected to arrive until around 6:00.

Meanwhile, former Florida governor Jeb Bush is also back in the state Friday. Bush is scheduled to appear at a Conservative Leadership Project town hall at Furman University north of Greenville. The 2:30 p.m. will be held at Younts Conference Center. It will be moderated by state Attorney General Alan Wilson.

— A new Gravis poll found that Donald Trump still enjoys a large lead in South Carolina, even as support starts to waver for him nationwide. Trump holds 29 percent support among the 762 self-identified Republicans surveyed. That would still be a double-digit percentage point lead over retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s 16 percent. Fiorina is the only other candidate in double digits, at 11 percent support. South Carolina resident Sen. Lindsey Graham had only 1.5 percent support.

On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to run away with the support of registered Democratic voters. Clinton picked up 50 percent of the support, far ahead of senior Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 13 percent. Vice President Joe Biden, who is not officially running, picked up 19 percent.